2024 round-up

2024 was an eventful year for everyone at Manchester Brick. We aren’t sure if we can fit everything we’ve done into one blog, but we’ll give it a go.

January

January is usually a quieter month. This is because the construction industry closes over Christmas and new year so we started the year by launching our new website!

The new site highlights our mission of inspiring, equipping, and transforming architects and developers as their reliable brick partner.

For a “quieter” month, January kicked the year off with a bang!

February

We started February by announcing we would be a partnership sponsor for

Cowgills’ North West Homebuilder awards. The event celebrated northern SMEs delivering stand-out housing, while working to meet the UK’s housing requirements.

Later in the month, we announced we carried a special Pre-war (UK) blend of bricks. What made them special? They are the only Banded Pre-War made by a UK brick manufacturer. Meaning, they were the perfect way to support the British brick industry.

March

In March, construction began on Collyhurst Village. Based in north Manchester, the project looked to build beautiful modern homes just a mile from the city centre.

Developers plan to build a massive 168 houses in the village.

Why are we mentioning this? Well, we are proud to be supplying bricks for 144 of the homes. This includes our very own Collyhurst blend, and Wienerberger’s “Corn Yellow” blend. This project puts Manchester’s development on full display, and we are thrilled to be involved.

We also started teasing a super-secret project we had in the works. People wouldn’t find out what it was for a few months, but the anticipation was palpable.

April

In April the UK’s housing crisis was the topic of choice for our blog. It was important to highlight the impact it has on people, and our involvement in alleviating the issue. We want to be involved in the effort to help. Read the blog for yourself here.

We also announced our involvement with Abrey Constructions Bastion project.

Our stunning Calderwood Claret was their brick of choice for a brand new residential development. Located in Liverpool, Bastion Point is a seven-floor apartment block that looks incredible.

May

In May, we took the opportunity to discuss our work with Bellway. We provided our Barcome Blend for a new housing development in Greater Manchester. This project means a lot to us because it’s located in Prestwich.

In case you didn’t know, we have been based in Prestwich since we first started in 2013. Having the opportunity to work on such an important project for the local community felt amazing. Why not see the project for yourself?

June

June was quite an eventful month for our team.

First, it was the month-long Liverpool Architectural Festival. For all of June, the city was host to daily events focusing on every area of architecture. This ranged from both walking and cycling tours of different locations, talks on a range of topics, drawing workshops and more. We were proud sponsors of this event, and hope everyone involved got something out of it.

We put the spotlight on our Badgers Rise project. This was a smaller housing project near Drinkwater Park, Prestwich. The builds used our Mottram Multi Bricks, and incorporated brick laying that provided stunning definition.

The Cowgills North West Homebuilder Awards also took place, where we were proud partnership sponsors. We also sponsored the ‘larger housing scheme of the year’, going to Towerhouse Systems for their Shores Fold project.

June was when we unveiled our plans for the new Ancoats showroom. The ambitious plan was hub for architects and developers to brainstorm ideas together. We had so much information to share, and now we could finally start teasing its potential.

July

Supporting local organisations is incredibly important to us. So, when the opportunity to sponsor Radcliffe FC came about, how could we say no! In July we were able to share the first look at the incredible kits brandishing our logo. It was a proper “Proud Dad” moment!

July was also when we joined the BDA Charter. Set up by the Brick Development Association, it recognises the importance of Britain’s brick industry. It informs people on brick types before buying, in relation to sustainability and ethics in the supply chain.

August

We started August by welcoming a new member to our team. Jamie Ollieuz came aboard as our new national specification manager.

RWinvest’s Merchant’s Wharf project was finishing up. It’s a new apartment building in Salford, and uses our Newlyn Heritage Blend. A key part of the year for us has been working on projects across Manchester. Being a part of the city’s evolution is an amazing feeling, and we hope we’re involved with more across 2025.

Later in the month, Geoff was in Southport following the tragedy that took place in July. While he was there, he met King Charles on his royal visit.

Finally, we shared our first glimpse of the new showroom in Ancoats. At this stage, we were practically finished, and sharing a sneak peek took a massive weight off our shoulders.

Now we just had to wait for opening day!

September

On 11th September, we opened our brand new Ancoats showroom. Months of hard work were payed off when people from across the industry joined us for our grand opening. Our mission in creating a space where architects and developers could collaborate in project planning came to life. It was the most important moment of the year for us, and it couldn’t have gone any better.

If you still haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out! We invite you to come down for a chat, brainstorm ideas, and take a look at our selection of bricks.

Later in the month, we won an Industry Golf Day hosted by TBS. We had a great time with people from across the brick world and look forward to hosting it in 2025.

October

In October, we put on a couple of events in our new space.

First we welcomed a cohort of Manchester’s university student, who came down on a “Techwalk”. Planned by MSSA Nexus, part of the Manchester Student Society of Architecture, there was a massive turnout. The next generation of architects watched an insightful video, took a tour of the new showroom, and had an exclusive look at our latest project.

Later in the month, we brought Germany to Manchester with an OktoberFest event.

The evening was sponsored by CUPACLAD, and we were joined by architects from Corstorphine & Wright, 5plus, Tim Groom Architects, and Cartwright Pickard.

We were also joined by material suppliers, such as KEMWELL Facades.
After months of development, we also shared progress of the Collyhurst Village project.

These new houses look incredible. They are a contemporary addition to the Manchester area, with plans to include homes in affordable housing schemes too. It meets our vision for affordable housing, in a time where more people than ever are struggling to find a place to live.

November

We started November at We Love MCR Charity’s fundraiser dinner. The evening worked to raise money for a number of important causes across the city. By the end of the night, over £103,000 had been raised. It was great being involved, and we’re thrilled at its success.

The following week, Dean And Geoff attended the BDA awards. The Brick Development Association put the spotlight on some incredible brick-built projects from across the UK.

Many of these projects were built with bricks manufactured by our own partners. Why not check out the winners for yourself? Then, you can contact our team if any bricks catch your eye.

We also updated our website. Now people can see our entire range of bricks from the convenience of their home.

Near the end of November, we helped Wienerberger put on a CPD on the topic of ecobricks. Aimed at architects, we touched on the benefits these bricks have on the system, and their impact on sustainability.

December

You can now see 400 bricks online from all the major and most trusted manufacturers in the industry. All are available through supply-to-order, so let us do the work and research for you.

As you can tell, 2024 has been incredibly eventful for everyone at MBS. We couldn’t have done it without our team, customers, manufacturers and partners.

We have huge plans for 2025, and as important as the past year has been, it’s only the beginning.

Sending everyone a massive thank you!